AUSSIE Simon Whitlock will be riding high when he takes on Raymond van Barneveld as the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts visits the Sheffield Arena on Thursday.
Whitlock warmed up in style for Thursday's clash against the five-time World Champion with victory in the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship in Barnsley at on Saturday.
The Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship won his first PDC ranking title with a 6-4 defeat of Gary Anderson in the final of the event.
That followed a comprehensive 8-3 defeat of Terry Jenkins in last week's Premier League in Glasgow, which moved him up to fourth in the league table and in line to celebrate his debut season with a play-off place.
"It feels fantastic to be fourth," said Whitlock. "I think I can win this, absolutely, but it's going to take a lot of good darts to get into the play-offs and then to win it.
"I'm on a building process and it's getting better every week, and to win a Players Championship on Saturday was another big boost for me.
"I'm feeling really confident and I'm looking forward to playing Raymond on Thursday, it's exciting for me.
"I've beaten him the last two times we've played but he's a dangerous opponent. He can do anything on the night and even though I'm going into it confident I'll be wary that he can produce something special.
"He's been struggling a little bit this season with his darts, changing a few things, and he's going through an experimental stage.
"I've been doing a bit of the same but I think I'm a bit more confident than him at the moment."
Whitlock's clash with van Barneveld will be the last of the four games to be played at the Sheffield Arena on Thursday, with Terry Jenkins taking on Adrian Lewis, Ronnie Baxter facing Mervyn King and 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor meeting reigning Premier League champion James Wade.
Tickets for the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts at the Sheffield Arena are still available from the Sheffield Arena Box Office on 0114 256 5656 or from www.sheffieldarena.co.uk.
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Ten - Sheffield Arena
Terry Jenkins v Adrian Lewis
Ronnie Baxter v Mervyn King
James Wade v Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock
Tickets: 0114 256 5656 or www.sheffieldarena.co.uk
Live on Sky Sports HD1 and Sky Sports 1 from 7pm
Fans outside the UK & Ireland can watch live in PDCtv - click here for further information
Sky Bet offer a range of in-play markets throughout the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts - click here to visit the Sky Bet website